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Re: Chewed seats.

My Reliant Scimitar has also suffered from mouse attention. They seem to find it a luxury complex with several cosy flats! Suggest you check the space just in front of doors in the void behind the panels for any nests!!
I leave several shallow tins of mouse poison and the odd traps around the garages (barns).
Google mouse traps and search for some ingenious home made traps.......mostly American......the simplest most successful seem to consist of a bucket part filled with water, a broom handle - or similar- through the top and bottom of a fair sized round can/plastic container. a band of Peanut butter spread around the middle of the can, bit of wood as ramp from floor to bucket rim with odd dabs of butter, and mouse climbs up, along broom onto tin - tin turns and mouse drops into water. (bucket without water does not work as mice can jump to amazing heights! No reseting required like normal traps so can be left for long periods.
My Nippy hood lives in the bedroom and seats upholstery is awaiting to be done (in middle of rather long and comprehensive rebuild)

Upholsterer should be able to sew over a patch on the hood.

may I guess that you could be the SWMBO so would not have to ask for permission to store upholstery indoors

Location: West Devon

Re: Chewed seats.

The upholsterer should be able to put a patch on the roof.

I use a plastic mousetrap, of the same general design as the old wooden one, but much easier to set and remove the results.

Baited with chocolate, I get a couple of mice a week on average.

It seems to get them before they start to damage anything.

Unless you can put your garage inside a metal or Tupperware type sealable box you cannot make it mouse proof!

Simon

Location: On a hill in Wiltshire

Re: Chewed seats.

One thing you should check is the wiring in the car. Rodents seem to like the taaste of insulation and can cause short circuits to occur, I've seen several car fires caused by the bu**ers. Keep the battery disconnected until the pests are removed.You may want to make a few of these ...... https://youtu.be/ABffYDM9EwU?t=49

Location: Piddle Valley

Re: Chewed seats.

I always keep mouse poison in enclosed (pet proof) containers in my workshop and garages.

Lots of people do not like using such things but I do not want the damage !

We change these every year and have never had any trouble

Location: Centre of the Universe

Re: Chewed seats.

Thanks for your reply. I am very reluctant to use poison as we have a healthy population of Tawny Owls and wouldn't want them to eat the poisoned mice as that can also kill the owls. Must put my thinking cap on, I have longworth traps which catch them live but unless I free them some distance away they find their way back.

Location: North Wales

Re: Chewed seats.

Thanks for your reply. I have checked the car and no mice living there thank goodness. I hope the upholsterer will be able to fix the hood. I only found it late afternoon so will have to ring on Monday.
The re upholstering of the seats will be about £350-400. That is some expensive mouse.

Location: North Wales

Re: Chewed seats.

I second the need to check the wiring. The old classic wooden mouse trap works well as it kills them outright. I've also used the sticky traps which are supposed to be more humane, but I have issues with that. The mouse dies a rather long struggling death. Make sure the culprits are actually mice. I've had rats that are too big for the traps I set. Poison is rather dangerous from the standpoint of pets and other wildlife.

Location: Sunny Seattle

Re: Chewed seats.

Thanks for your advise.
I said I would like to suspend the car from the roof but I don't think that would be possible.
I am now paranoid. I have read on t'net that the thing to use is Bounce conditioner sheets for dryers so there will shortly be a world shortage once I hit the shops.
I will cover the car, the walls, floor and every bit of space.
If it doesn't work at least it will smell nice.

Location: North Wales

Re: Chewed seats.

We have two cats. No mice

Location: not north wales any more

Re: Chewed seats.

Hardly surprising that we don't have a mouse problem with a ferocious feline prowling the premises, having dealt with the mice it's now moved onto to squirrels. You know she's earning her keep, she eats half and leaves half for me.

Re: Chewed seats.

I suffered damage in the saloon until we bought a mains high frequency plug in mouse deterrent - works very well.

Re: Chewed seats.

We have a cat, she doesn't live in the house she lives in the garage (not Nippy's) and sleeps either in our 1929 Austin Seven Chummy or on top of the 1950 Land Rover. We see signs of mice on the shelves in the garage but not in the vehicles. Unfortunately we can't fit the Nippy in that garage as no room.

Location: North Wales

Re: Chewed seats.

Forgive me for such an obvious question but, apart from the Austin, I trust you are not storing any potential mouse food in the motor house? For example they rather like the fat content in bars of soap. A bit like burglars in their tendency to return to the scene of the crime.

Regards,
Stuart

Re: Chewed seats.

Like Hedd and Dave, I think a ball-bearing rat-trap is the answer. Cheers, Bill

Location: Euroa, Australia

Re: Chewed seats.

Nothing else in the garage at all apart from an obviously very tasty car.

Location: North Wales

Re: Chewed seats.

I have a chewed front seat in my 1931 Box, it was there when I bought it. Is it possible to repair or to replace the damaged piece without doing the whole seat cover?

Location: Near M1 Jtn 28

Re: Chewed seats.

Maybe. It depends how brittle the original cover has become.

In my experience most people have an over-optimistic expectation as to what can be done with old fabric/vinyl/leather.

Ask a local upholsterer for an opinion. If the hole is not in a load bearing place, and the cover is suitable, it may be patchable from the outside, without removing seat from car or cover from seat.

Life isn't usually like that, though!

Simon

Location: On a hill in Wiltshire

Re: Chewed seats.

Thanks for the reply Simon. The hole is in the leather edge panel on the seat squab. I had considered cutting a patch and glueing it in with another piece of leather as a backing.
I watched an episode of Car SOS where the leather grain was taken on a mould from another part of the seat and reproduced on the damaged part and the result was undetectable. Or, I have enough leather to do the entire car but that would mean discarding original leather that is not too bad.

Decisions, decisions!!
Brian

Location: Near M1 Jtn 28

Re: Chewed seats.

The mouse/mice did a good job, they chewed the seats on one side from bottom to top. It wasn't just a hole, was the full length. The upholsterer will re-do them and put more padding in as they get a bit uncomfortable after a while. I think the seats will sit in the house until we can sort the problem out.

Location: North Wales

Re: Chewed seats.

Brian's solution is a valid one, when I was in business as an upholsterer we used to get tradesmen call in, who would to do small invisible repairs in vinyl upholstery that had been damaged. Not so successful on vinyl that was brittle and sun damaged as the repair itself was flexible. The quality of their work did vary but in general was surprisingly good.
They would create a rubber mold of the vinyl grain from the adjacent area, smear some goop over the problem (sometimes with added backing as per Brian's situation), cure the repair with a heat gun whilst applying the rubber mold sporadically. Finally they would colour match the original and spray paint over the repair. These mobile guys would do a round of the pubs, bus companies, car yards, upholsterers etc for budget seat repairs. As with everything there are some guys better than others, ask to see samples of his work, will work on leather.
I believe they do fabric as well by spraying a flock over the surface but I am sceptical about that result.
I would AVOID the DIY kits! regards Russell

Location: oz